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Next to my stove is a clear squeeze bottle filled with dark brown stuff. People usually think it's soy sauce, but they get a shock if they put it on rice. It's not soy sauce, it's molasses.

"Why keep a squeeze bottle of molasses next to the stove?" you're thinking. "How often do you make gingerbread, anyway?" Because in modern American homes, that's about the only time molasses gets pulled out of the slightly gummy back recesses of the cupboard, if there's any in the cupboard at all--for gingerbread at Christmas.

Why doesn't Lynn's bread look as nice as the results say it should?" you may be asking yourself. A few reasons, plus some notes on things I do differently than Jean that you might be able to see in the photos

Measuring and mixing ingredients is a major part of any recipe. But what makes bread-making different is how you work them together. Whole wheat breads create an additional problem because, well, they're harder to work with than white flour breads.

Making whole wheat bread that you love is often touted as one of the great culinary feats of the world in cookbooks. Whole wheat by itself, you see, makes a dense, heavy loaf that no true aficionado would tolerate if it weren't necessary.

All of the anal-retentive suggestions you have ever heard about pie crust are true, because pie dough is a very special kind of dough. It isn't hard to achieve, once you know what you're going for and why, but pie crust can still intimidate a lot of people.

There is no food I like better than the potato. My family calls me the Potato Queen because I haven't met a potato dish I don't like. Baked or boiled, fried or mashed, hot or cold, I love them all. Potatoes' versatility allows them to be used as main dishes, side dishes, soups, salads, breads and even desserts.

In the Diary section a while back, I mentioned that I had acquired 40 pounds of organic apples on sale through my co-op. Using up that windfall, and planning for the apples that are now arriving in my yard and at stands and stores, had me puzzled at first. But there are as many ways to put them by as there are varieties, and endless recipes as well.